


Only One Afternoon

by OmnipresentNuance



Series: The Loud Sharp Chronicles [1]
Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Afternoon, Big Sisters, Bonding, Forgiveness, Friendship, Gen, Jealousy, Little Brothers, Regret, Sibling Love, Sibling comfort, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:20:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23934463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmnipresentNuance/pseuds/OmnipresentNuance
Summary: All Luna wanted was a simple day out with Sam. However, she did not take into account the arrival of Lincoln and him coming along at Sam’s insistence. Despite her inner reluctance, Luna remains silent, but after feeling pushed aside plus some sudden jealousy later, she goes insane on Lincoln and seriously upsets Sam as well. Now, she then hopes to quickly fix everything soon.
Series: The Loud Sharp Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1729846
Kudos: 3





	Only One Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

> *EDIT*: Fixed a glaringly obvious grammatical and spacing issue that had been present for a little too long now. My sincerest apologies, I have no idea how I managed to not catch that before, but it has been taken care of at last. Also made a slight adjustment to the summary.
> 
> Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you are doing fantastic, because I sure am. In fact, I'm positively ecstatic with what I have for you today.
> 
> For me personally, this is one I've been longing to put out there and I am very proud of. I've had the basic idea and framework for this as far back as about September of last year, but a combination of figuring out what exactly to do with it and all the other stuff I had to work on kept it largely as nothing more than an idea...until last Thursday that is when nothing else was on the docket for the time being and I finally and happily put the effort into at long last what I personally see as one of my finest works to date. And hey, what better timing to publish it than while everyone is still on a Saluna high thanks to "Purrfect Gig", especially with an added healthy dosage as a result of the official televised US premiere of that episode yesterday, am I right?
> 
> On top of the convenient timing and subject matter, this story right here is the beginning of a series I'm official dubbing "The Loud Sharp Chronicles". It's the same one that I mentioned at the end of "Soulful Discourse" that also has "Melodious Juncture" in the same timeline, both of which were preludes (or as I've come to describe the latter, "the prelude to the prelude"). They're not technically "officially" part of the series, but again, part of the same timeline nevertheless. So aside from whatever else you'll expect from me, be prepared to see a whole saga of sweetness, heartwarming, some occasional heartrending feelings, but otherwise good times between Luna, Lincoln, Sam and Simon...who is indeed the younger brother!
> 
> For those wondering what I mean, I also mentioned at the end of "Soulful Discourse" my ambiguity over if Simon truly was Sam's younger brother given up until recently he hasn't been seen and the only basis we had was the now non-canon version created by JaviSuzumiya. But now the matter has been solved and he is indeed the younger brother of Sam. I must also say, while almost everyone else gushed on about the continuing budding relationship between Luna and Sam in "Purrfect Gig" and for good reason, Simon's debut was actually the part I loved the most about that episode, and from what little we've seen, it's delightful that it appears he has a very good relationship with Sam. Plus, the fact he has similar looking bangs in his hair much like his big sis I thought is such a cute touch. Just thought I reference that for the heck of it. All that said, hey, I have another older sister/younger brother relationship from The Loud House that I can have a whole lot of fun writing about, as if having five of such relationships already of the Loud variety which I love bunches wasn't enough! Boy, I love older sister/younger brother relationships so, so much...even as someone without any siblings of my own, but still!
> 
> Okay, I think I've gone on long enough and at long last, kick back, relax and enjoy!
> 
> The Loud House is the exclusive property of Nickelodeon and Viacom. The usage of the setting, characters and such is based on nothing more than a pure affinity for everything and is not being used for monetary purposes.

"There we go. I look rockin' and ready to roll!"

Those were the confident words coming out of the mouth of Luna Loud as she was in the bathroom doing some last minute checking over of herself. She had something a big day planned in the next few minutes and it never hurts for her to do a good once over before heading on out.

When she assumed everything was in order, Luna emerged out of the bathroom and no sooner did she step on out was she then greeted by the beaming smiles and eager dispositions of her two older sisters, Lori and Leni.

"Oh, uh...what's up?" Luna asked.

"Hey, Luna! What are you up to?" Leni asked back innocently.

"Uh...not a whole lot. What do you mean?" Luna responded, getting confused.

"Oh, so you mean to tell us you _weren't_ literally just now gussying up for your day out with Sam?" Lori teasingly said while folding her arms and raising her eyebrow.

Luna couldn't help but chuckle, "All right, yes, that's what I was doing. Buy hey, we'd all do the same if any one of us were going out in public to look our best, right? It's not entirely about Sam in my case."

" _Sure_ it's not…" Lori again said teasingly, adding a wink at the end.

"But were still, like, totes thrilled you're gonna go on another date with her anyway!" Leni added enthusiastically.

After saying that, both she and Lori squealed happily and before Luna knew what hit her, she got caught in an excitable hug from both of them.

"Uh, dudes, while I appreciate the support and positive vibes here, you don't have to make it sound like every time I hang out with Sam as if it were a date." Luna said, "I've come to accept that this isn't something I can just rush right on through. I gotta take it slow and one step at a time, ya know?"

"Maybe…" Lori said in a teasing tone for the third time, but then she got a bit more serious, "But all kidding aside, we get it, Luna. Still, we just can't help but be so happy for you in the progress you're making with Sam, no matter how small each step is."

"Heh...well, thanks…" Luna remarked while blushing, "And I get that you were only kinda messing with me, too, so don't think I was getting too bothered by what you were saying."

With that, she eventually returned the hug her sisters engulfed her in.

"Anyway, I better get a move on. Can't keep her waiting for too long...well, not that I'm saying that Sam is someone who'd get testy or impatient if I'm running late or such. I've said before she is a real chill, understanding gal and that is among many reasons I really wanna hope everything will turn out well between us."

To give her that extra little motivation, Lori and Leni briefly squeezed their younger sister for a few seconds more before letting her go. As Luna then would just about head down the stairs, she looked back over at her sisters one more time.

"Later...and thanks again for your support. I know everyone in our fam supports me all the way in this, but you two have really gone even further than I can imagine and I know you're both the first ones I'll come to should things ever become bumpy on this road I'm traveling down." She said in earnest.

Finally, Luna traveled downstairs and out the front door on her way to meet up with Sam. Meanwhile, Lori and Leni looked at one another with shimmering eyes, heartened smiles and added another happy squeal between them.

"They're gonna be so adorbs together!" Leni shouted gleefully.

* * *

Over at the park, Sam Sharp was sitting by the fountain diligently and patiently waiting for Luna to arrive. It was very much the identical setup as to how they came together in preparation for the Royal Woods Astonishing Quest.

Speaking of said event, while she kept on waiting, Sam took in a moment of reflection and chuckled. To think she and Luna almost broke things off before they really got going at all going due to neither of them having any sort of commonality over the various tasks the Quest...aside of course from both failing to excel in the most exceptionally complex undertaking of baking an apple pie. It was after unsuccessfully making one that they came to the conclusion that there's no reason at all for them in trying to become closer just because they didn't do well together in the Quest.

Upon looking back even further in hindsight, Sam realized that she and Luna did in fact have one major thing in common besides the obvious aspect of loving rock music. She still vividly recalls the events that unfolded akin to when she performed the unfolding of that envelope which contained the love letter Luna put inside her locker. In the days upon learning it was the fellow rocker girl who wrote that letter, there was a period of awkwardness in Sam that caused her to keep an arm's length from Luna for a brief period of time. However, there was no malicious intent involved and it wasn't even inherently because Sam didn't in a sense feel similarly towards Luna. Eventually, they did talk it out and both were astounded to learn they both struggled with the same problem about exploring their bisexual inclinations and how discovering each other brought those feelings out more in the open.

That talk with Luna was one Sam always looked back on so fondly. Though at the time they said at first they'll stick out as friends, Sam's view changed significantly both since that conversation and particularly in the aftermath of the Astonishing Quest. Now she really did want to work in creating something special with Luna, but like the rocker Loud, she was in no rush to get there, yet still hoped for the best.

"Yo, Sam!"

Her tranquil moment of reminiscence ended when she heard her name called out, but knowing who'd done so made her expression light up. Sam turned her head just to the right to see Luna approaching from the distance. What initially started as a brisk walk evolved quickly to a full-on jog as the Loud girl made it up right to her Sharp companion.

"Hey, Luna!"

Sam sat up from the fountain and opened her arms up, cuing Luna to do the same so they could engage in a hug. Unlike when they greeted each other in this exact same setting for the Astonishing Quest, there was no awkwardness between them at all. Instead, it was nothing but perfectly symmetrically shared sentiment of the affectionate sort.

"Man, it is great to see you again!" Luna said with zeal.

"Same here, Lunes." Sam responded in kind.

After staying in their hug for a little bit more, they parted ways and both chose to sit near the fountain to have a quick chat before getting their afternoon rolling.

"So, how's life been treating you, Luna?" Sam inquired.

"Eh, pretty rad I'd say. Can't really complain on my end." Luna answered, "And how about you?"

"Same deal with me, yeah. Nothing to complain about in my world right now." Sam said.

Luna smiled at her, "Good, good…"

For another little moment, Luna and Sam didn't say much, only to really take in their surroundings and enjoy the presence of the other.

"So, uh...what will be doing today?" Sam wondered.

"Oh, well…" Luna began while chuckling clumsily, "To lay it out to you truthfully, Sam, I don't have any real plans or specifics set up. What about you?"

"Um...nothing really pops to mind myself either if I'm being perfectly honest. This day out was your idea in the first place, so I sort of hoped you knew what we should do." Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right about that." Luna conceded, "I'm sorry, Sam. I guess maybe since I kinda just told you out of the blue yesterday I wanna hang out, I didn't think through _what_ we should do."

"Hey, don't worry about it, Luna." Sam assured her, placing a hand along her back, "Maybe we can make this one of those 'plan as you go' sort of deals. I wouldn't mind that at all if that's okay with you."

Luna grinned, "Uh...sure, whatever works, brah. But I suppose I'll say this much in that we'll make sure nothing we actually do involves laser tag or dancing."

Sam laughed, "Or anything relating to farms, rock climbing, organic juice or sailing."

"Yeah, and don't forget baking, too!" Luna added.

Both shared another laugh over recalling their follies from the Astonishing Quest, then Sam stood up and Luna followed suit.

"Well, maybe we could start with a little stroll together around here." Sam suggested.

"Sure, I can roll with that." Luna said with a nod.

Having at least deciding on that, Luna and Sam went along side by side one another for such a stroll. Even if there were no real set plans at the moment, what mattered most in both of their minds was that they were spending this time together and hoping to take every small step possible in growing closer.

"You know, now that I think of it, I do seem to remember saying something about snagging some grub while we're out." Luna recalled, "I mean, we don't have to that right now, but maybe after we've squeezed some other stuff in we can close it out with that."

"That's sounds like a nice idea. Yeah, and I do remember that now myself since you brought it up. You mentioned that when we talked over the phone yesterday as you suddenly suggested we hang out together today. Plus, I do believe you generously offered to pay should we indeed do that." Sam said, slyly grinning over that last part.

Luna chuckled amusingly, "Did I now? Well, that would explain why I brought some green with me. At first I thought it was just in case, but then I sort of had this nagging voice in my head telling me there had to be an actual reason for doing so. Guess having an afternoon nosh with you can be that reason."

Speaking of voices, just as she and Sam resumed walking, Luna someone calling out to her.

"Hey there, Luna!"

Both she and Sam turned around in the direction of that voice to see none other than Lincoln coming up to them.

"Oh...didn't think I'd see you out and about here, bro." Luna said, surprised by his sudden arrival.

"Me neither, but I just happened to see you and thought a quick, impromptu meetup could be in order." Lincoln said, looking over to Sam, "Though it does appear you are busy at this moment."

"Heh...guess that's one way to put it." Luna commented, then she also turned to her companion, "But anyway, Sam, you know my little brother, Lincoln, right?"

"Sure, if only just a bit. Nice to see you again, Lincoln." Sam acknowledged as she extended her hand out.

"You too, Sam." Lincoln said while shaking her hand, "Though I admit the only time we've really seen each other before was during the 'friend card' incident. Might've not been the best time for us to meet knowing how dumb and regrettable _that_ was."

"Ah, don't worry about." Sam stated with a smile.

"Yeah, you, me and all our sisters understand what a nasty cluster that it turned out to be." Luna added, rubbing the back of her neck.

A small moment of slightly awkward silence took hold between Luna and Lincoln having to remind themselves over the one of the more dumber incidents and kerfuffles they and their sisters had ever gotten themselves swept up in. Meanwhile, Sam simply stood by, but ultimately chose to alleviate the scene soon enough.

"Um, how about we don't dwell on something like that and instead, do you mind if I ask what you are doing or were planning to do, Lincoln?" She asked him.

"Well, I was gonna have a nice day out with a couple friends of mine, but they both texted me in the last couple of minutes sating that they had other plans of their own and thus canceled on me so abruptly." Lincoln answered, sounding more disappointed with each subsequent word he spoke.

"Really? I'm sorry to hear that." Sam expressed sympathetically.

"Eh...it's all right. I mean, it is only one afternoon. I won't deny that I'm disappointed and maybe a little bit hurt if these friends of mine had their alternate plans already in place without telling me beforehand, but I'm not gonna get all broken up over it. There are plenty of other days when I can hang out with them." Lincoln said more optimistically.

Luna smiled and looked back at Sam again, "That's my bro for ya, often the optimist and one of the bigger rays of sunshine in our fam. It's one of the many reasons I adore him so."

Lincoln soon also showed a smile of his own, looked away slightly and even a mild blush over his sister's poignant description of him, which also drew some giggling from Sam as well.

"Gotta ask, is he this adorable a lot?" She inquired to Luna.

"More often than you think." Luna answered, complete with giggles of her own.

"Aw...come on now, girls, no need to embarrass me _that_ much." Lincoln said, his blushing getting a shade redder.

"Oh, it's only in good fun, dude." Luna reminded him, "But with all that said, I think Sam and I should be shoving off for whatever we have planned for the day...and I do mean 'whatever' since neither one of us had much in the way any ideas for what to do, but I'm sure we'll figure that out on the way. See you around, bro."

With that, Luna turned around and began heading off. However, only a few steps in did she realize that Sam wasn't following along and instead she was still by the side of Lincoln having something of a contemplative look on her face while looking at him.

"Uh, what's up, Sam?" Luna questioned her.

"You know...what if we had Lincoln come along with us?" Sam suggested.

"Huh?" Lincoln uttered.

"Wait, really? But why?" Luna added perplexed.

"Well, if I'm being honest, I can't help but feel sorry for him that he's unable to do whatever he had planned with his friends, so maybe joining us could be the next best thing." Sam explained, glancing back over to him, "Besides, it'd give me a convenient excuse in finally getting to know someone from your family better on an individualized basis, particularly this little brother of yours that you've gushed on about around me a few times before."

Again, Lincoln let another blush form along his face as he also laughed briefly.

"Well, if Luna is okay with it…" He said.

But comparatively speaking, Luna was a bit more thrown off by this proposition. If she was honest on her end, she really wanted this to only be a day about just herself and Sam. But on the other hand, she'd hate to disappoint Sam or make Lincoln feel unwanted, so…

"I...uh…" Luna stuttered out, then sighed a little before showing a little nervous grin, "Sure, why not?"

Both Sam and Lincoln smiled as well after getting such approval.

"Actually, you know what, let me first, uh...give my fam a ring to tell them that Linc is coming with us just in case they wonder where he is." Luna said.

She got her phone out and went over behind one of the nearby trees. However, she immediately put it away as she only had it out to in order to come off as convincing in front of them, because she was really doing this to ruminate privately very briefly about what had just happened. Again, while Luna didn't want to let anyone down, she truthfully wasn't really that enthused about Lincoln tagging along. Sure, she loved her brother to bits, but still she rather spend the afternoon only with Sam, because like everyone else in her family, she deserved some time set aside just for herself. Nevertheless, she did already voice her somewhat hesitant approval for Lincoln to join in, so she couldn't exactly back out now and ultimately she may as well try to make the best of it.

"Come on now, Luna, don't make such a big deal out of this…" She told herself quietly, "This could pan okay. No reason to think this can become a malfunction at the junction, right?"

Taking a deep breath, Luna reemerged and returned over to Sam and Lincoln.

"Okay, that's been covered." She said, putting on the most convincing smile she could muster.

"Great! So, shall we?" Sam said while gesturing forward.

In any event, Sam lead the way as Lincoln walked alongside her, while Luna followed along a little bit more behind them, hoping for the best for the upcoming duration.

* * *

Unfortunately for Luna, it seems her concerns have since become validated well beyond what she could've imagined. During all the activities that had occurred in the past hour and a half, most of which were suggested by Lincoln, Luna basically felt like a third wheel in the background only giving modest input compared to that of her brother and Sam, who were otherwise having a blast together. Because of it, her attitude throughout that time shifted from mildly annoyed to straight up irritated, though she tried her damnedest in concealing those feelings in front of them.

Currently, the three of them were at a cafe doing the one thing that Luna and Sam did at least agree up prior to Lincoln's sudden inclusion into the proceedings. Luna continued to basically be something of an afterthought while Sam and Lincoln were chatting it up. Despite this, she did have to begrudgingly admit that they had been really hitting it off extremely well, even if whatever they were talking about came off largely as white noise to her. She did at the very least pick up on one highlight of the day in which Lincoln insisted they stop by at an arcade, where he and Sam had played a handful of light gun games together, something that Sam ended up greatly enjoyed doing. This made for a curious paradox, because though she wasn't adept at all in laser tag as Luna can personally attest to, blasting away fictional polygonal and third-dimensional baddies turned out to be a breeze. If a certain family comedienne had been present, it could be described that Sam may have been something of a _sharp_ shooter on that front.

But other than that instance, Luna hardly paid any attention to the conversation Sam and Lincoln were having. However, a sudden burst of laughter from both of them did raise her curiosity if only slightly.

"Oh my goodness…" Sam said as her laughter subsided, "Luna, I know you've told me about Lincoln a little bit before, but I never imagined until the time I've been with him today what a fun, clever and charming boy he is! You're so lucky to have a brother like him!"

"Oh, go on now…" Lincoln added in his trademark confidence.

"Yeah...that's certainly true…" Luna remarked with feigned enthusiasm.

Normally, Luna wouldn't have any issue at all agreeing with or certainly saying herself such high praises for her little bro, but how the day played out leaving her with a sour mood held her back in that sense.

"Well, I think we're about done here. You said you're still paying, right, Luna?" Sam brought up.

As if Luna's state of mind wasn't already dour enough. Being unwittingly or otherwise relegated as a third wheel _and_ having to be reminded by Sam that she did in fact promise to pay for their meals, including now for a third unscheduled one courtesy of Lincoln on top of that? She may as well paying for her role of being pushed to the side at their benefit all the same.

Nonetheless, Luna did pay in any event and they were just about leave, but Sam told them to go ahead without her for a minute as she had to make a run to the bathroom first. As she took care of that, Luna and Lincoln sat down on a bench just outside of the cafe.

"Hey, thanks for letting me come with you guys, Luna. I had a fun time." Lincoln told her.

"Uh...sure, no prob." Luna said, again putting on feigned enthusiasm, "Seems like you and Sam have gotten quite buddy-buddy with each other, huh?"

Lincoln nodded and smiled, "Oh yeah, definitely! She's so cool and nice, much like you actually. It's no wonder you really want to create something special with her."

For as much as the day didn't really go like she preferred it to, Luna couldn't help but feel a little better after hearing those words from Lincoln. For his troubles, she let a gentle smile form on her face and ruffled his hair.

Eventually, Sam rejoined them and they all left together, perhaps to maybe squeeze one or two more things in before officially calling it a day.

"Say, I've enjoyed having you come with us, Lincoln." Sam commented.

"Same here, Sam. In fact, I liked it so much, maybe we could make this into something of a regular deal. Heck, maybe you and I can hang out just the two of us once in a while." Lincoln suggested.

Instantly, whatever better mood Luna was in quickly went downward. She only hoped that her fellow companion would disagree with such a proposition, gently or not.

"You know, I wouldn't mind that at all. We make for a fun trio if you ask me, and yeah, I wouldn't mind doing the latter suggestion as well." Sam said.

That did it for Luna. Something went off inside her and was about to be brought up in a rising tide of anger she rarely ever felt.

"Actually, _I_ would mind that, dudes." She spoke up suddenly.

"You would?" Lincoln asked.

"Yes, I would!" Luna reiterated more harshly, "I wasn't gonna say anything all day long, but dang it, after hearing what you both said, I can't hold it in anymore!"

She shot a venomous glare over to her brother.

"Lincoln, I didn't want you tagging along with me and Sam in first place, and I don't care what she said earlier about suggesting it. I had my doubts that this would be a good idea, and thanks to proceedings that came about, I had good reason to believe that! All day long you hogged all the time that I could've used for myself with her for your own selfish benefit! You both made me feel like I was some third wheel whose only real contribution was paying for all our grub. Do either of you dudes appreciate me doing that?! Did you?! And now you're gonna act all high and mighty believing you can just insert yourself into any outings with Sam and I whenever you damn well please? Or even have the stones to think you can hang with her without me around or my knowledge of being aware of such? Oh no, _that_ will _not_ being happening! From now on, I'm strictly forbidding you from ever coming along with me and Sam ever again, and you can also forget about hanging with her by yourself, 'cause I'll sure as hell make it so that'll never happen!"

Sam stood on by in complete astonishment over the unfolding scene before her. She had never seen nor ever imaged that Luna could become so furious at anyone, let alone her own brother. It stood in complete contrast to the girl she thought that she's gotten to know pretty well these past several weeks. Despite the fury being unleashed, she risked trying to intervene by grabbing on to Luna's arm.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Luna! Maybe you're-"

"Sam, stay out of this!" Luna bitterly demanded, roughing yanking her arm away from her concerned companion in the process.

The ever increasingly enraged girl returned her piercing gaze back over to Lincoln, who by this point really was quite intimidated by how incensed his older sister had become. Still, he tried approaching her and attempted explaining his side of things.

"Luna, I-"

Getting yelled at was something Lincoln didn't find entirely too unpredictable, if still otherwise very distressing. But that was nothing compared to what happened next that abruptly interrupted his explanation.

He felt the brutally stinging sensation of Luna striking him with what could be best described as a combination of a slap, a scratching of her nails and a shove all in one that spun him halfway around before slamming down face first onto the concrete sidewalk. Right in the background, Sam audibly gasped and covered her mouth worriedly. But if that wasn't enough, even as Lincoln was laying face down, Luna stood right over him, prodded the back of his head with her index finger and unleashed more verbal rage.

"No, save it, bro! I don't wanna hear it!" She shouted, trembling in addition, "All I wanted was to have a simple day out with Sam, but no, you just had to stick your nosy, interfering self into my affairs and ruin _every single goddamned second of it_! Now, get outta here! Go back home or whatever, like hell if I care, but just get out of my sight!"

Slowly, Luna backed away as she panted hard. When he assumed the worst of the storm that was his sister's rage passed on, Lincoln stood back up, but he chose not to look back at her out of fear and ruefulness.

"Okay, Luna…" Lincoln said weakly, "I get it. I heard you loud and clear. Message sent, message received. I'll get out of your way…"

He sighed, hung his head down in shame and walked off until he was indeed out of her sight.

As Lincoln had departed, Luna inhaled and exhaled hard herself.

"Well, with that out of the way, maybe we can still do a little…"

But as she was saying that, Luna turned over to look at Sam and she came off as not looking pleased at all. Her arms were folded and her eyes were narrowed straight at Luna.

"Uh...what's the deal, Sam?" Luna asked, almost baffled.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I should say nothing at all. Wouldn't want to say or do anything that hasn't already ruined 'every single goddamned second' of your day. Very classy manner of putting it, by the way." Sam said with cutting sarcasm.

Luna stood by and stared at Sam almost with incredulity.

"Oh, come on, Luna, are you for real? You're gonna act like that business with Lincoln didn't happen just now?"

"What? You had a problem with that?" Luna asked, now sounding more unforgiving.

"Duh, of course I did! You really thought I'd approve of you abusing your own brother like that?" Sam fired back.

"Hey, maybe the dude had it coming! He really did wreck our day!" Luna retaliated, then she shot a leery look at Sam, "Actually, the more I think about it, this might be more _your_ fault than anything! Why'd you even bother asking him to come along in the first place?"

"Well, it's like I said earlier in the day that I felt sorry for him not being able to do whatever he had in store before and thought he might like coming along with us." Sam brought up again.

"But this was supposed to be _our_ day together, Sam! We didn't _need_ him or anyone else coming along mucking things up!" Luna said.

"Luna, it's just only one afternoon out of a whole bunch of them! There's always gonna be more times after today when we can hang out together again!" Sam emphasized, "Though I must say, since you brought up things being mucked up as you put it, I had a sneaking suspicion you weren't exactly having the best of times at all."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Luna asked confusedly.

Sam rolled her eyes, "Oh, don't play dumb with me, Luna. I couldn't help but notice how you were sort of putting out this air of unpleasantness the more the day went on as much as you tried concealing it. I could've said something, but I chose not to because for one I hoped your mood would have improved as the day wore on, and secondly, I didn't want to cause any unnecessary drama by asking about it. Looks like I didn't have to worry about that second part since you did such a bang up job in the drama department. And ultimately, no matter how you may have felt about it, I really did have a great time having Lincoln around with us. He truly is such a good kid and I've come to really like him a whole lot."

"Then why don't you two go get a room?" Luna muttered petulantly, folding her arms and averting her sight away from Sam as well.

"Pardon me? What did you just say?" Sam inquired sternly, raising her eyebrow.

Luna shut her eyes and gritted her teeth, " _Nothing_ …"

"Oh, I think I heard you quite clearly." Sam said before she sighed, "Luna, I can't believe I'm seeing and hearing all this from you. This is so unlike the laid back, easy going girl I've gotten to know over these past several weeks and hoped for something really good to come about involving us."

Though there was a little regret possibly forming inside, Luna seemed to remain hardened in stance and mind over her choice words and actions directed at Lincoln regardless of how Sam felt.

But what was said next by the blonde haired girl with a teal streak that began changing everything and softened Luna's position some.

"You know, I'd hate to think you've been lying to me this whole time about you and Lincoln."

Luna gasped softly and looked back at her, "Huh? What now, brah?"

"I mean that I'm wondering if all those times you've told me before today about how much you loved him could be for nothing if how you treated him just now is any indication." Sam clarified.

"Really? Well, maybe it's my turn to ask if you're for real." Luna said, briefly having a tiny bit of a confrontational tone returning, "You're gonna question if I love my bro at all because of that one little tiff you saw?"

Sam grunted mildly out of disbelief, "That 'one little tiff' as you so casually put it involved you saying you never wanted him coming with us at all, accusing both me and him of pushing you aside throughout the day, aggressively waving some sort of authority you claim to have in telling him he's not allowed to come along with us again or even to hang with me specifically, and all of that culminating in you hitting him and profanely saying he ruined your entire day. Add on top of your gradually grumpier attitude as the day went on despite your best attempts to hide it during our time together and honestly, can you really blame me in a sense for at least raising the idea of how much you truly care for Lincoln? Aside from that whole friend card thing you dragged me into, this has been the first I've really seen of you two together in person, and frankly, it was a horrible true first impression. What kind of big sister acts in the way she did in front of me to her little brother if she truly loves him, and over something so petty might I add?"

While she could've tried mounting any sort of excuses or defense of her actions, Luna had to admit Sam pretty much was nailing her on all of that. Her feelings of rancor were really diminishing internally and shifted more over to sorrow as it began showing on her face. But having her own response would wait as Sam continued speaking following another sigh from her.

"Luna, I've told you a few times before that I have my own little brother, Simon, remember?"

Luna nodded a little timidly, "Yeah...but what does that have to do with anything?"

"A good deal from my own perspective, really…" Sam responded, now with her expression and tact also getting softer, "To start, I've also said that having even one sibling be can enough chaos in my life, though I can't really complain over or compare chaos levels with regards to your own home life given you having _ten_ siblings in total. But getting to my main point, like I've bet you have done with any of your siblings, I've gotten into my fare share of disagreements and arguments with Simon, plenty of which were about really stupid stuff that maybe shouldn't have resulted in such bickering in the first place, but you can't really change the past."

She paused for a second before going.

"However, none of those spats with Simon matter in the long run because I love him very dearly and I've told him plenty of times that he knows if he's ever having any troubles life or needs someone by his side, he can always count on me to be there for him. Also, with regards to those same spats, I try my absolute hardest, or damnedest if you really want me to get blunt about it and taking a cue from your choice of words today, in that I make sure I don't get into any physical altercations with him, either...which brings us back full circle to you and Lincoln."

As she was just about to wrap things up, Sam got a little closer to Luna before putting one hand on Luna's shoulder and the other over her own chest.

"So are you beginning to understand why I hated seeing what you did to your brother? It's not only because it was appalling behavior no matter who was involved which it was, but it especially hurts in my heart as a big sister myself to see another one go off on her own little brother as you have done. Now, I'm not saying any of this to brag like I'm a better sister than you or to make you feel inferior. All I'm saying is that this is a very sensitive subject that's near and dear to me and I hate to be under the impression that you treat Lincoln like that normally when you're not playing it up to me how much you care about him."

With the conclusion of Sam's own perspective, Luna felt more like a bonehead than ever now. Finally, she needed to say her own piece.

"Wait, Sam! Please, you gotta understand something! What happened between Lincoln and myself just now is not a full representation at all of how we see each other! Just like how you described the way you and Simon are, the same goes with me for my bro, too! We really are as tight as can be! That little dude means the world to me…"

"I hope that's the case, Luna, I really do." Sam said somberly, "But again, you can't really blame me for wondering otherwise. There's a huge difference between _saying_ how much you love him versus actually _showing_ it, which you've failed to convince me at the moment. Look, in fairness, maybe I'll at least perhaps pull back on calling you an outright liar, but I still believe you haven't been as entirely transparent in regards to the overly utopian bright and sunny portrait you've painted about the relationship you share with Lincoln whenever we've talked."

Once again, Sam breathed a sigh as she started turning around.

"You know, with all that has been said and done, it might be best if we called it a day and see where we go from here…"

Perhaps out of pure reluctance, Luna allowed Sam to start leaving.

"Sam...I'm sorry…" She said to her wistfully.

Sam stopped and looked over her shoulder, "I don't think I'm the one you need to be saying that to."

And with that final line, she finally took her leave.

Meanwhile, Luna sulked over to a nearby alleyway. She balled up a trembling, clenched fist. She had become angry again...but this time at herself. She had finally determined that Sam had every right in the world to find disgust and contempt in her actions toward Lincoln. No amount of frustration over how the day went or what essentially added up to jealousy and even paranoia when all is said and done over her brother getting along so well with Sam could ever in hindsight justify what she had done.

So upset at herself had Luna become, she released a strained growl while swinging her fist around behind her and her knuckles barely made contact with the side brick wall of a building opposite where she stood. Even with such minor contact, it still amounted to a sizable coursing of pain to the point she let out an agonized cry while covering her mouth with her free hand.

" _Damn it!"_ She muffled out, tears also beginning to form and fall.

It was a curse with a double meaning to it: physical pain from punching the wall, and pain inside from the realization of how awful she was to Lincoln.

* * *

"I should have never came along…"

Such a depressing admission came from Lincoln as he found himself hiding behind a tree in the park. The very same park that he bumped into Luna and Sam, and before he knew it, found himself coming along with them. But looking back, maybe he should have turned down the offer made by Sam if he had the foresight to see what was to come.

He shivered when the whole incident of how Luna exploded on him came rushing back in his mind. In all his life, never can he think of an instance ever where she had been more completely infuriated with him. It was downright frightening all things considered.

As for why Lincoln had chosen coming back here as opposed to going back home like Luna all but basically commanded him to do, his reasoning in the moment was twofold. First, if he did return home, he knew he'd be swarmed by a bunch of his sisters upon seeing the damage done to his face and really hated to admitting that Luna was the culprit. Speaking of her, the other reason was that Luna was perhaps on her way home at some point soon and Lincoln was frankly terrified of crossing paths with her again, lest she'd go all unhinged on him again.

"Lincoln?"

His thoughts came to a halt when he heard his name being called. At first he had no clue who could've know he was here, but quick glace on over revealed it was Sam.

"Sam? What are you doing here?" Lincoln asked, "You weren't looking for me, were you?"

"No, not really. I was on my way home and couldn't help but see you over here." Sam answered.

She knelt down in front of him and it was then she gasped upon seeing his face.

"Jeez, are you okay?" She wondered.

"I don't know, really. I haven't really gotten the chance to see how I look." Lincoln said, "Is it bad?"

"Well, you do have some scraping along here…" Sam mentioned, pointing to his right cheek, then she moved his head with her hand gently to check the other side, "Plus, you also some little scratch marks as well, which I'm guessing is when...well, maybe I won't describe it out loud if it's something still fresh in your mind and if it makes you uncomfortable having to relive it."

Sam wished she could do something in even the smallest way to help Lincoln out with his cosmetic injuries, but in lieu of lacking anything on her that can do the job, she did at the very least thought being here with him might be the next best thing. So with that in mind, she decided to sit down next to him.

"Hey, for what it's worth, I'm really sorry about what happened with Luna. Honestly, never in all the time I've spent with her would I think she'd ever flip out like that, be it towards you or over something as simple as you joining us for the day." Sam said.

"I'm sorry, too." Lincoln agreed, "I'm sorry you had to witness it."

He brought his knees up to his chest, hugged them and lowered his head down, whimpering slightly on top of that. Though he had his face buried into his knees, he still sensed Sam moving just a little closer to him and wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulders. He didn't say anything, but used the act of leaning against her for support as a means of showing his appreciation in her being with him, even if she never intended so.

"Lincoln, I hate even asking this, but...does Luna treat you the way she did earlier often?" Sam inquired full of concern.

Lincoln didn't answer a few seconds and his silence on the onset made for an ominous sign for Sam. But eventually, he sighed and looked up at her.

"To the level she did today? No, never. She's never been like that to me up until recent events and thankfully that's not the case most any other time." He began saying, "But I will admit that she can be a little rough on me both verbally and even physically on occasion, and though I never like whenever it does happen, I can't emphasize enough how rare those cases are."

Thought it was still a little concerning that there were implications of roughness no matter the rarity of such, and again it clashes with the near universally wholesome portrayal of the relationship she'd been told before, Sam was at least relieved to hear that Luna doesn't sound like a serial abuser of Lincoln, and he was going to prove that further.

"The thing is, despite said roughness and what you saw today, Luna is not a naturally angry or aggressive person. She really is in fact one of the best sisters I could ever ask for. She's very dependable, fun to be around and just has this great sense of knowing whenever I'm feeling down and won't relent until she can do whatever she can to cheer me up. So, please don't get the wrong impression about her just because of what happened today, Sam. Yes, it was awful and I do feel somewhat fearful now, but to repeat, Luna is a great person and a wonderful, endearing sister who I love a lot."

In spite of all that went down earlier and whatnot, Sam couldn't help but smile just as he was doing the same. Hearing Lincoln describe his overall relationship with Luna in generally glowing, positive terms was a delight, perhaps in part due to it sounding quite similar to how she categorized her own relationship with Simon. Additional, Lincoln's pleasant description matched with Luna's own earlier insistence of how tight she was with him and did also make Sam start to feel guilty about accusing Luna of not caring for him as much as she did.

"Although with everything being said...I do think Luna might not be terribly interested in finding or even speaking to me for now after what she did…" Lincoln said more lamentably.

Sam sighed a little, but immediately soon showed off another smile, "Actually, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Lincoln. While I did have a very stern and tough talk with her, it did seem like she slowly but surely began realizing what she did was wrong by the end. And while we're on the subject, I find it admirable that I sense you don't hold any real resentment toward Luna for what she's done to you. You know, one of the things she's told me about you before was how easily forgiving you can be and are also able to look past the worst aspects of others and focus on the positives. In all honesty, I wouldn't blame you for being resentful of her, and though you through your own admission say there are feelings of fearfulness which I also won't blame you for, it is reassuring all the same you don't harbor any truly hard feelings for your sister. That to me shows you're a really great kid with a good heart and character to match. It's all the more reason that I'm finally glad to have gotten to know you today."

For a brief moment, Sam reached her other arm around Lincoln to give him a small hug, which he did appreciate on top of those kind words of hers and even if he didn't return the favor himself for now.

"So you really do think she's wondering where I am?" Lincoln asked, trying to sound hopeful.

"I'd bet on it. But in the event she's not or having trouble with it, I can call her up if you like and tell her where we are." Sam offered up.

"You'd do that for me?"

"Sure, absolutely. Anything for a friend of mine."

Lincoln was surprised by that designation, "Friend? You think of me like that already? But we only really gotten to know each other today."

"Yeah, I know." Sam acknowledged with another, smaller grin, "But I would present to you that we've gotten along so well in that time. Plus, anyone who's very close to Luna is somebody I'm gonna be soon similarly close to in due time I'd argue. Now, let me give your big sis that all important call…"

Still maintain an arm around Lincoln, Sam reached out for her phone with her free hand and dialed Luna's number, hoping to quickly form a reconciliation process between this sibling pair she's come to view as real important to her.

* * *

"Okay, how about they could have two kids, one boy and girl who might also be twins, plus a dog as well. Maybe like a corgi, but hopefully one that's nice unlike the one Carol told me she had to adopt."

"Adorbs! But the part I'm, like, confused about is if two girls can even have babies together."

"Um, well...they can, but they'll need, how shall I put this literally in the most gentle of terms for now...some outside help with that. If that for whatever reason doesn't work out, there's also adoption as well, so they can do whichever."

"Ohh…well, whatever makes them happy, right? But I'm also so supes happy for them right now, too!"

One shrill, ecstatic squeal came about again to show just how much Lori and Leni were loving the thought of Luna's future with Sam. Since their sister's departure, they spent part of their time theorizing what they could be like many years into the future, gushing on about all sorts of possibilities.

Their 'what if and what have you' sessions did come to an end right as the front door opened up and Luna returned home. Immediately, Lori and Leni dashed right up to her when she did arrive.

"Oh, you're back, Luna!" Lori said very happily, "So, how did it go?"

"Yeah, tell us! Don't spare any details!" Leni equally said merrily.

However, their giddiness slowly died down upon Luna turning around and showing herself off to her sisters. She was covering up one of her hands with the other, her eyes looked damp and overall she carried herself as if something terrible has happened.

"Luna, what's wrong?" Leni asked.

"Yeah...did something happen with Sam? Are the two of you okay?" Lori followed up with.

"Maybe…? I'd hope so." Luna answered doubtfully, "But that's not entirely the most important right thing now. Has Lincoln come back home yet?"

"Um...no, he hasn't...at least we haven't seen him yet. Why?" Lori wondered confusedly.

Letting out a distressed moan, Luna walked past her sisters and sat down on the couch, where Lori and Leni quickly followed along worriedly and joined alongside her.

"Dudes...I've completely...screwed things up majorly." Luna hesitantly admitted.

"Wait, what do you mean, Luna?" Lori asked, "And by the way, why are you holding your hand like that?"

Luna sighed, then after a couple seconds, she revealed the slightly cracked, bloodied and scraped wounding on the knuckles of her right hand.

"OM-gosh!" Leni shouted after a gasp, "Are you okay, Luna?"

"I think so…" Luna replied, moving her fingers around to at least show that her hand wasn't broken.

"What happened, though?" Lori inquired.

"I...I...punched a wall a bit…" Luna quietly answered.

"You did? But why?" Leni asked, getting more worried with each passing second.

"Did something bad happen with Sam? And furthermore, what does Lincoln have to with anything if at all?" Lori added with similar concern.

As much as Luna really wanted to talk about it, she was terrified how her sisters would react once she delved into the details of what she did to their brother. She brought her knees up close to her chest and hugged them tight.

"Actually, hang on for a moment, I'll be right back." Lori said.

While their older sister left them briefly, Leni moved closer to Luna and ran a hand down her back.

A little over a minute later, Lori returned with a handful of bandages plus a little strip of tape.

"Leni, hold this for me just for a second." She requested.

Lori handed the strip of tape to Leni, then she took Luna's injured hand and carefully wrapped the bandages around it. After doing that, she took the tape from Leni and used it to hold everything together.

"There...it might not be much, but hopefully it'll help some." Lori said, grinning ever so slightly.

"Thanks…" Luna softly remarked.

"Luna, can you please finally tell us what happened?" Leni all but practically begged her to do.

Luna released a very shaky, strained sigh. Again, she feared how her sisters would take it once she got to the worst involving Lincoln, but also knew there's no point in hiding it for much longer. Slowly, she began recounting the day's events.

"Okay...I met up with Sam at the park just like we had planned. That actually was the only thing we'd figured out ahead of time, 'cause I truthfully didn't have much lined up for us to do today. But we didn't get even to whatever our first activity could've been before Lincoln ran into us."

"Really? What was he doing there?" Lori asked.

"Well, according to him, he also had plans with some some buds of his, but supposedly they bailed at the last minute. So after learning that, Sam suggested that he come along with us because she felt sorry for him and so she could use the time in getting to know him better, too." Luna said.

She took a second to gather herself a bit before continuing.

"But to be upfront, I wasn't psyched about our bro tagging along and if I honestly had a choice, I would've said he shouldn't come. I mean, were all as close a fam as you'll find, but we all deserve our own time for ourselves, too, right? Yet at the same time, I didn't want to disappoint Sam since she sounded as if the idea of him joining us really got her real excited, so it's like I couldn't tell her no and agreed he can come if for her satisfaction only."

"Well, if you ask me, that sounded really sweet of her to have Lincoln join you guys." Leni commented.

"Perhaps, but I will say that your hesitation and doubts over it does sound somewhat similar to when Lincoln would unexpectedly arrive during some dates I had with Bobby some time ago. I wasn't big on it at all, but Bobby loved having him around during those times, so I tried my best in not voicing my displeasure over Lincoln's intrusions." Lori mentioned.

"Yeah, and since you brought up that last bit, unlike with me, I bet you never yelled right on up at our bro, sideswiped him across the face and stood over him while screaming on about how he ruined every single second of your day and telling him to get out of your sight." Luna rather suddenly said.

Once those details slipped out, Lori and Leni both gasped in complete shock.

"What?! Luna, why would you do something like that?! What were you thinking?" Leni questioned her sister distressingly.

"I wasn't thinking, okay?!" Luna shouted, again with her voice straining.

It was getting harder for Luna to hold everything together. On top of the straining of her voice, her eyes started tearing up again. While Leni had become saddened to hear those events, Lori had a more mixed reaction of worry and crossness. She would almost never have envisioned Luna resorting to that level of viciousness on an individual basis against Lincoln given how very warm, friendly and genial their relationship normally was.

"Luna…" She began sternly while trying to maintain some open-mindedness, "You might want to literally back up a few steps and explain to us what lead you to take such...questionable actions to put it nicely with Lincoln."

Luna nodded, "Right...so as the three of us got to hanging, it was mostly just Sam and Linc that were living it up and I don't know if they meant to or not, but I felt sort of pushed aside because of it. And yeah, you could say that I was jealous, because I thought our bro was taking up all the time with Sam that I thought truly belonged only to me and her."

Those tears which welled up in Luna's eyes started to trickle down her face.

"But the point where I went loose was right after we left a cafe where we had finished eating at. We were walking together and Sam mentioned to Lincoln how much she enjoyed having him around. He agreed with that and thought he could hang with both of us more often. Then he even suggested to Sam that maybe just the two of them could hang once in a while. After he said that and when Sam thought both of those were good ideas, the jealousy in me just kicked into overdrive and…"

By this point, she began to cry softly.

"And that's when I...when I went off our little bro...screaming at him, whacking him across the face kinda like this…" Luna was saying, taking a moment to imitate the swiping motion, "Then he spun around and faceplanted on the sidewalk before...before I yelled at him some more...saying specifically he ruined every _goddamned_ second of my day before demanding he get out of my sight. And yes...Sam witnessed every moment of what I did...and she hated it all. She tore into me about how unlike me that it was and how it particularly got under her skin with her being a big sis with a little bro herself. Then...and this was the worst part besides all the gnarly junk I said and did to Lincoln...while she didn't say it straight up...Sam basically may have came close to saying we were done all because of that. And you know what...I wouldn't blame her if that's how she felt...because...because...because I acted like at total _bitch_ to my baby bro! That's right, a complete and total, straight up _bitch_! I have essentially wrecked two relationships in one day!"

Luna could not contain herself anymore and went into full blown, hysterical sobbing. Instinctively, Leni reached out and brought her crying younger sister into her arms, while Lori at the same time moved over closer and rubbed her back soothingly. Neither were going to pretend to think that Luna's actions weren't indefensible, but seeing her break down and voice her complete regret did make them have just enough sorrow for her in any event. They didn't say much else at all as they remained by the side of their sister while she released a torrent of tears.

Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing interrupted things only a few minutes later. Surprisingly enough, it was Luna's and what was even more stunning was when she checked to see who was calling, it was none other than Sam.

"Wha…?" Luna uttered in confusion, "Why is Sam calling? I thought she didn't want anything to do with me now."

"I'm not sure why she'd be calling, either, but might be a decent enough sign if she is in fact putting the effort in doing so." Lori theorized.

"You think I should answer her?" Luna wondered.

"It wouldn't hurt I'd say." Lori answered, glancing over to her other sister, "In fact, Leni, we should give her a moment alone."

"Sure, okay." Leni said.

The two oldest Loud sisters stood up and left in favor of heading over to the dining room just so they could still be within earshot. Meanwhile, after breathing in and out to try calming herself down, Luna chose to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

" _Hi, Luna…"_ Sam said softly, _"How are you?"_

"I'm...not really holding up well if I'm to be upfront and honest with you…" Luna replied, "But I gotta ask...why are you even calling me at all, Sam? Figure I'd be the last person you would chat with right now."

" _Pretty simple reason...because I'm with Lincoln at the moment."_ Sam answered straight up.

"Wait, you are? You know where he is?!" Luna asked.

" _Yeah, he's right at the park where we met up earlier. I'd thought I may as well tell you that in case you wondered where he was...I mean, assuming you even care at all about his whereabouts or condition after today…"_ Sam put it curtly by the end.

The terse wording and again having to be reminded of that atrocity from earlier brought forward some additional whimpering and strained sobs from Luna. Immediately as a result, Sam regretted those choice of words.

" _Wait, no, I'm sorry, Luna. I shouldn't have said that. It was totally uncalled for on my part."_

"Why should it be uncalled for?" Luna said with some sniffling, "I acted so irresponsibly and I don't blame you at all for thinking like that. Still...you are with my little bro, right?"

" _Yeah, and if you like, I can bring him back over to your place._ " Sam offered.

"No, I'd like to come on over to him myself. It'd be for the best. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be right there." Luna said.

After abruptly hanging up, she got up from the couch and headed for the front door, but not before getting some questions from her older sisters.

"Luna? Where are you off to?" Lori inquired.

"To go get our bro. Sam told me she's with him and I want to use this opportunity to apologize to both him as well as her." Luna explained.

"What are you gonna say?" Leni curiously asked.

Luna sighed, sniffled and pressed her forehead against the door, "I guess to Sam...I'll tell her how I was basically a selfish...uh, just, you know, plain ol' selfish to think Lincoln was trying to insert himself into our affairs for his own sake...and how she had to see how horrible I was to him. As for the little dude himself...he's gonna hear how badly his big sis screwed up...how she did him harm both in body and soul...but she'll do whatever it takes in making it up to him...and make it known just how much she really loves him."

As she wrapped up explaining her plans, Luna turned back around, looked at both of her sisters and went up to hug them.

"Thanks for not completely wigging out on me about what I did...even if I probably deserved such."

"It's no problem, Luna…" Lori said while she and Leni hugged her back, "Hey, do you want us to come along with you if for any other reason than moral support?"

"No, I can manage." Luna responded, "Not that I don't appreciate the thought, but this is something I really feel like I must do all by myself."

After the hug ended, Luna sighed deeply and was again just about to head out.

"Bring us back our Linky…" Leni said for added encouragement.

Luna looked over her shoulder and grinned ever so slightly, "That is what's most important to me now...and also maybe making things right with Sam, too."

Finally, she opened the front door and hoped to accomplish both of those things in due time.

* * *

In the time since making the call, Sam remained by Lincoln's side the whole time. They didn't really converse much and only focused on being on the lookout for Luna's arrival. Even if he did wish to talk it out with her, it didn't make Lincoln any less nervous with every passing moment about how he'll deal when Luna did come along. But in the meantime, and perhaps because she sensed his anxiety, Sam continued to maintain a close grip on him. To Lincoln, she gave off such a comforting aura and it really showed just how much she's grown to care about him in so little time.

"Hey, I think I see her." Sam spoke up.

Lincoln craned his head around the tree just like she did and indeed noticed Luna in the distance. He couldn't help but tense up a little.

"Let me get started with her, okay?" Sam assured him, squeezing his shoulders with her arm affectionately.

She let go of him and stood up, step around from behind the tree and headed on over in Luna's direction.

"Oh, hey there, Sam…" Luna said upon her arrival.

"Hi, Luna…" Sam responded, then she couldn't help but notice the bandaged hand, "Whoa, what happened here?"

"Oh, did something really dumb in frustration over everything that's happened…" Luna explained after sighing.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed along as both of them looked at one another regretfully.

"Okay, screw it, I'll get straight to it." Luna began saying, "Look, Sam, I know you sort of brushed it off earlier, but I really am sorry about everything. The truth is...I guess I felt more than a little bit jealous over how much you and my bro got along so quickly when I really shouldn't have. And you're right, I shouldn't have gotten so roiled up over only one afternoon of such, either."

"Actually, about that, I've been thinking before you came here that maybe you did have something of a point when you said earlier about you felt pushed aside. I was thinking at first you were going out of your way to allow me and Lincoln to have some time in getting to know each other, but there could also be the chance we unwittingly pushed you to the side also." Sam posited to her.

Luna sighed, "Well...either way, there's was no excusing everything that was said and done to you and especially my bro. Speaking of which, where is he?"

"He's behind that tree right over there." Sam said, pointing in that direction, "But before you go over to him, mind if ask a couple other things about today?"

"Uh...no, I guess not. Like what?" Luna wondered.

"Well, this should've been asked right from the top after all that went down, which is if you really didn't want Lincoln to join with us, why didn't you say so in the first place?" Sam asked.

Luna grunted uncomfortably, "Because I didn't want to disappoint you as you sounded real stoked about him coming for the proceedings, and once I sort of said it was okay, it's like I had to commit to everything regardless of my unwillingness for him tagging along. But ultimately I did disappoint you big time with how I conducted myself and I don't blame you at all if you want to break things off with me like you may have said."

"What are talking about, Luna? I didn't suggest anything like that." Sam said, surprised by such an implication.

"But...but...but you said after when we should call it a day that we should see how things go from there." Luna reminded her.

"Whoa, hold on now! That's not what I meant at all!" Sam assured, "All I was saying then was maybe we should've taken a few days break from each other to let tensions simmer down, then we could try like talking on the phone or something in order to restart things with us assuming everything would get better between you and Lincoln, too. I guess I'll apologize for not wording that better, but no, I never intended in breaking things off with you altogether in that moment, Luna."

"Oh...okay, that's good to know, I guess…" Luna said, grinning and blushing lightly, "So with that cleared up, what was the other thing you wanted to ask?"

"Well, this one's gonna sound a lot more awkward…" Sam prefaced, "When you went off on Lincoln and said he was forbidden in coming along with us again and especially you hating the idea of just me and him ever hanging out together...you weren't implying that he might've been...well, for a lack of better terms...trying to make a move on me, were you?"

"Uh...I hope that wasn't what I made it sound like. Although, I have called him something of a little ladies' man before…" Luna mentioned with a chuckle.

"Um...I'm not sure how to take that and do I even want to know?" Sam said a little put off.

Luna chuckled again, "Ah, don't worry, it's just a little nickname I teasingly called him during this time we were talking about girls and such. See, he's had his fair share of crushes so far, including one now with this newer girl at his school named Stella, though she has told Lincoln that she only wants to be friends and even though he's holding out hope, I've told him that may need to also be ready to accept that friendship could be as far as he'll go with her."

"Oh…" Sam said simply, now also chuckling, "Well, guess that might've been a silly thing for me to suggest all things considered."

"Maybe, but it's good to clear that up, too. Linc can be some things, by trying to muscle his way to someone's girl or otherwise crush is far below what I expect of him...or maybe even demand is how I should put it, really." Luna said.

After appearing to have cleared most of the air that clouded the status of things between them, the more pressing matter now loomed over.

"Well, shouldn't really be keeping my little bro waiting on pins and needles much longer…" Luna remarked with a touch of worry, "I hope he isn't too scared of me coming up to him."

"I really don't think so, Lunes. Sure, when I was talking with him, he did come off as a little anxious. But still, I'm gonna be a betting girl and say he's really needs you now, so go for it. Be the dependable big sis to him that I hope you truly are in spite of what I said earlier." Sam said confidently.

With those added words of encouragement, Luna smiled and she walked past Sam on her way over to Lincoln. However, she paused for a moment and looked back as she had one other thing to say.

"Sam...thank you so much for finding Lincoln for me and telling me where he is. You kinda acted like a better big sister figure to him in that moment than I was."

"It's no trouble, Luna. Even though it was only coincidental that I came across him, I'm glad I did and was able to be there for him, too. And hey, don't sell yourself short about your own sisterly prowess. I have a great feeling it'll be put to good use now." Sam told her, "In case you're gonna ask about me, I'll go on a little walk or something like that to give you and him enough time alone."

Again, Luna showed off a smile at Sam before taking a deep breath and at long last headed over to the tree where her little bro is said to be behind.

Sure enough, there he was with his head bowed down into his knees. He had no clue that Luna was right there until she knelt down on both her own knees right in front of him.

"Hey there, bro…" She addressed him, trying her best to sound at all upbeat.

Lincoln looked up ever so briefly and out of gut instinct alone, he raised both his hands up to hide his face.

"Whoa, hey, settle down, dude. I'm not gonna yell at you or anything like that." Luna tried assuaging.

She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, the contact making her realize just how tense he was as if he were a coiled spring ready to release and pop up at any given second. She then used her other hand to gently pull his own hands away so she can see him.

When Luna did see Lincoln's face, she finally got a firsthand look at the damage that marked around it.

The damage _she_ was personally responsible for.

This sight alone almost made her want to break down into tears again. However, in this moment, she chose to hold it in and wanted to power on through in once more fulfilling the role she prided herself even more so than being her family's resident rocker.

That being the caring big sister she really is to any of her younger siblings, but especially at this juncture to her one and only baby brother.

"Lincoln…" Luna began determinedly, yet also in total sincerity, "I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am for everything I've done to you today. No big sis should ever treat her little bro to the extent that I did. It was totally beyond unacceptable and I'll bear the burden of that for the rest of my life."

She sighed as she then put her other hand along his cheek.

"Listen, I won't pretend that I wasn't too thrilled over the idea of you joining me and Sam today, but that gave me no right to blow my top off on you like I did. It would've been far better to just gently and politely tell you in not coming along, but I guess my fears of letting Sam down or making you feel unwanted prevented me from doing that. But still, that could've saved us so much anguish and unhappy vibes instead of what turned out in that time instead…"

Next, she directly locked eyes with him, pressed her forehead against his and gave him a small smile.

"Look, I can't guarantee that I won't ever lose my cool in front of you again. But what I _can_ promise you is that I will never, _ever_ go all mad psycho girl on you in the way I did again and certainly I'll try to never hurt you like I have managed to scar you both on the outside and I bet deep on the inside, too."

Finally, she brought him closer to her, his face right up against her chest and her chin resting on top of his head as she tightly held him lovingly in her arms.

"But above all else, I don't want you to ever think that what happened between us during that now regrettable bit of nastiness of which was entirely my fault changes anything at all about the one simple truth we share...and that truth is that I love you, Lincoln. I'll always love you all the way until the bitter end, baby bro."

The spigot within Lincoln turned on and he let loose a wave of tears that have been waiting to come gushing out of his eyes for a while now. He put his own arms around Luna's waist and held on. Meanwhile, she couldn't help but also let a couple tears trickle down eyes in the moment as she continued holding on to her brother.

"I love you, too, Luna…" He finally spoke up, "But I'm sorry that I'm breaking down like this..."

"It's okay, bro. Don't be afraid to let out. I'm right here for you like any big sister should be." Luna whispered

She gave him a very fond kiss right on his cheek and nuzzled her head against his. But right from the corner of her eye, she noticed that a few feet away from where they were that there was glistened eyed audience of one looking on.

"Sam?"

"Sorry, I can't help myself." Sam admitted as she wiped her eyes, "I really did go on an ever so brief walk like I told you, but I did catch the last couple of moments...and I don't I've ever been as touched to witness anything except if it were something with my own brother like I have now. You've proved me wrong in the best way possible, Luna."

Speaking of touched, Luna was feeling the same way as well. She was actually so glad that Sam did bear witness to whatever portion of this she could and right now, Luna wanted to show her gratitude to the one who made this possible.

"Hey, I hate to cut this short, Lincoln, but give me a sec here…" She said to him.

She very gently let go of her grip on him and his own before standing up and now giving Sam a very big hug.

"Sam, I've said it already, but thank you again for all this...for finding my bro, bringing me to him and allowing me to make things right." Luna expressed with utmost gratefulness, "Even though you said it was a coincidence, you having done all that you did for him makes me so proud to know that there's someone else besides myself, anyone else in my family or the friends he has that I know I can trust with his safety and well being."

Sam smiled and warmly embraced Luna back, "It was my pleasure, Luna. And just in case you still have any remaining doubts...after all I saw, there's no way I'm gonna end things with you, 'cause I still want to make this work...together."

"You don't know how stoked I am to hear that, Sam." Luna said with all the emotion she could bring.

As they still held on to one another, Luna looked back over to Lincoln and extended her arm out.

"Hey, bring it on in with us, dude."

As if he needed to be told twice, Lincoln got up to his feet and gratefully found himself accepted into this three-way embrace by both his older sister and his newfound friend. It lasted for a good several moments and while Luna did find herself pulling away eventually, Sam on the other hand still held on to Lincoln as he did to her as well.

"Heh...you're awfully cozy together." Luna commented humorously.

"Oh, sorry…" Sam said sheepishly, "It's just that I've gotten so wonderfully acquainted with Lincoln in such a short amount time that I can't resist. I guess one way of looking at it is that as someone with my own little brother who I hold so dearly to my heart, I can't help but become quite attached to another little bro belonging to someone else...like the one standing before me who I also wish to bring closer to me."

Luna blushed, laughed and shook her head, "You know… looking at this scene, I had no reason at all to act so aggro over you two getting along so well. If you're both happy about it, I should be, too and I'm sorry again for being that way in the first place."

"Yeah, it's like I said to you outside the cafe about Sam is every bit as cool and nice as you are, Luna." Lincoln said.

Sam was moved to hear that, "Really? You think that of me? Aw, well in that case…"

Practically seeing him like a little brother figure in her eyes already, Sam leaned down and gave him a quick, little kiss on the cheek, causing him to madly blush.

"Like I asked before, is he often this adorable?"

"Again, more often than you think." Luna answered proudly, bringing him back over to her and kissing his opposite cheek.

"Girls, girls, please, not in public!" Lincoln insisted playfully through giggling.

Luna and Sam joined in on the laughter, but then the sound of a phone ringing interrupted things.

"Oh, that would be mine…" Sam said, reaching down and taking her phone out, "Hey, speaking of little brothers…"

She stepped away from Luna and Lincoln a bit and answered, but she was still close enough from them to hear her.

"Hey there, Simon. Yeah, I know I'm a little bit late, but let's just say today has turned out to be more meaningful than I ever imaged. But don't worry, I'll be on my way home as soon as I can...and hey, I have an idea. Just for you and to make up for being late, how about I bring home some ice cream?"

Even from the distance where they stood, Luna and Lincoln could audibly here an excited "wahoo!" coming from the other line of Sam's phone, and loud enough for her to pull the phone away from her ear for a couple of seconds while laughing somewhat.

"Yeah, I thought you'd like hearing that...but try to dial back the enthusiasm down from an eleven to maybe a six, okay? No, you don't have to apologize and yes, my ear is doing fine, thanks for asking. Anyway, I'll be home very soon with that ice cream at hand. Yeah, I love you, too. Bye."

Still chuckling, Sam hung up and turned her attention back to Luna and Lincoln.

"Little brothers...what can you do with them?"

"A whole lot." Luna proudly said, putting an arm around Lincoln, "They give us some of the best joys in the world and in return, we give them all the love and care they could ever need."

"True...very, very true." Sam agreed with a nod.

"Hey, it was awfully nice of you to say you'll get him some ice cream." Lincoln noted.

"Thanks, but doing it for Simon isn't the only reason I had in mind. I saw an ice cream vendor during that walk I took and thought we could swing by before we all call it a day. My treat, by the way, since just like you, Luna, I brought a little money myself without really thinking I needed it, but hey, when an opportunity shows itself, might as well take advantage of it." Sam said.

"Sure, sounds good!" Luna stated, turning over to Lincoln next, "You down for that, bro?"

Lincoln smiled enthusiastically, "Absolutely I am!"

Another round of laughter was shared amount this trio before they set off to nab themselves such a treat. While on their way, Luna positioned herself in between Sam and Lincoln, putting her arms around both of them.

"You know, I was way too rash earlier. I actually wouldn't mind at all every once and while if we all did a little something together just the three of us." She said, turning over to Sam, "And hey, maybe you can bring Simon along someday, too."

"Sure, I bet he'd like that." Sam agreed, "And about Lincoln ever hanging out with just me…? Maybe that's still a little out of reach?"

"Eh, you've my trust after all you did. But maybe tell me in advance and then afterward just so can I hear what a rad time you both had." Luna said with a laugh.

"Sure, that sounds fair." Sam said.

"Yeah, I can agree to that, too." Lincoln added, "Also, I'll be sure to ask you guys in advance next time as well if you want me to come along as opposed to imposing myself unexpectedly."

Luna laughed and tightened her grip on both of them. Here she was, with two of her favorite people in the world: the girl she hopes to make something special with and the little brother who she loved very much. This whole day also made her learn not to be so possessive of the time she spends with Sam. Like it had been drilled into her, this was just only one afternoon out of a whole bunch and she had more than enough days ahead of her to set aside for fun outings, be it with only Sam, only Lincoln, with both of them and hopefully soon with Sam's own brother Simon added into the mix as well. Time may be limited, but it is who you use it with and how that matters above all else.

* * *

Some time later, after getting their ice cream fix in, Luna and Lincoln were on their way home. In Sam's case, she didn't actually have hers right away and instead waited until she arrived home along with what she got for Simon to indulge.

Upon coming back to their house, Luna and Lincoln were immediately met by their very antsy older sisters.

"Oh, finally you guys are back." Lori said.

"Yeah and...OM-gosh, are you okay, Linky?!" Leni was saying before noticing the wounds on her brother's face.

"I'm good, Leni." Lincoln assured her, "And you and Lori don't need to get really upset at Luna or anything like that. Everything is fine now."

Luna nodded and patted his shoulder, "Yep, it's all good, dudes. Nothing but positive vibes like they should be with our bro."

"Well, at least that's a relief...and what about Sam?" Lori wondered.

"All good, too. We're still gonna see things through and enjoy every moment of it." Luna said followed by a happy sigh.

Hearing the all around good news, Lori and Leni both smiled in relief and then moved on to the next task at hand.

"Well, looks like we literally have another sibling of ours that might need some treating." Lori noted, looking over to her sister, "Mind giving me hand with getting a few supplies, Leni?"

Leni nodded, "Okay!"

While their two older sisters went off, Luna brought Lincoln right over to the living room and they sat down on the couch. It was then that she took her little bro back into her arms.

"I love you, Lincoln, and I promise I'm gonna work better on my 'tude and all. Anything for me to be the best big sis possible to you, bro." She said.

Lincoln hugged her back, "Thanks, Luna. I love you, too. By the way, you always been one of the best big sisters I could ever ask for or need in all my life."

Smiling widely, Luna pulled back just slightly to kiss Lincoln on the forehead and then hugged him again. Like any turbulent instance between them, they've always came out better because of it and reaffirmed how much they love and cared for one another. There's nothing more they can ever want as a result and the bond only gets tighter every time.

**Author's Note:**

> There we go, the first touching tale of this saga to start things off. As often is the case, got a couple other things to bring up.
> 
> While the scene of reconciliation between Luna and Lincoln may have been my favorite, I actually liked writing the moments between Sam and Lincoln perhaps the most. There's such a lack of them being together on a purely friendship basis just the two of them, as pretty much every other instance in various fan works consists of them either in a romantic sense or hanging out along with Luna. However, the idea of them being close friends or being in an honorary older sister/younger brother sort of thing is something I really like, so you'll be seeing more of that as this series goes on...and plus a similar dynamic between Luna and Simon, too.
> 
> Also, in the chance anybody might say "wait, so both Luna and Sam kissed Lincoln on the cheek, but they didn't for each other or anything more?", all I'll say is patience, my dear friends and acquaintances. We've got a long way to go and if I shall engage in several bouts of ship teasing until I give the people what they're really wanting, then that's how it'll be. But something between them will come about, I assure you ;).
> 
> Oh, this was so worth the wait in thinking about, writing and publishing this. Thank you as always and I really appreciate all the support and such. It means a whole lot. With that said, until next time, see you around!


End file.
